Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1887-12-29
THE NORTHWEST
TIE sEITEIIIIl HISTORY Of OHIO.
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AvAIuARIE PANTY RELIc.

~ AvALUABLE FAMILY RELIC.
Hon. w. F. Curtis, formerly Sena-
Tor from the Marietta district, has In
his possession commission, issued by
Territorial Governor Arthur st. Clair,
TO William Perry, Of Clermont county,
as Major Of the Fourth Battalion. First
Regiment Of Militia, and dated July l,
1901. The broad seal Of the Territory
isattnched. The commission Is endons-
ed by William Lytle, father OF General
Robert T. Lytle and. grandfather of
General VIM. H. Lytle, the poet-war-
rior, who was killed in battle during
the rebellion, who administered to
Major Perry the oath OF allegiance to
the United States an. oath al, that time
required OF all officers, eiected or a1.
pointed. Mr.. Curtis holds the COM
mission subject to the claims Of the
legal heirs of Major Perry.
....,. RoYALIN CLERMoET COUNTY. .,...
'trruth is stranger than felton," is
an adage exemplifled by many curiosi-
ties In human annals. General John
Neville was . Virginia officer, distin-
guished In the revelation as one Of
Washington,s. trusted aides. General
Neville left q SON and daughter; the
former General Presley Neville, who
had also been IN officer In the Revolu-
tion, entered Aseveral tracts of land In
this county Clermont), upon one Of
which he laid Outthe town Of Neville,
which Is on the first Virginia military
survey ever run in Ohio. He became
q resident Of this town about the time
the first addition was made to its linn
its, and lived in a large double hewn
log house, which was torn down nearly
a third , of q century ago. General
Neville died about, 1S19,. and after his
death his body was carried to Pittsburg
to appear in evidence in a case affect
ing the Neville estate, and this testi-
mony of the dead relieved the heirs of
greatlos One of his sons entered the
navy, and another, Colonel Morgan
Neville, became big bankerin Cincir-
natl, and held official positions under
Jackson and Van Buren,. blce IL
General Presley Neville had spent
= several winters In Paris and there he
became intimate with Louis Philippe,
the prospective Duke of Orleans and
future King of. France. Under the
rule of the first Napoleon the Orleans
family was banished the country and
Louis Philippe came to. America, where
for years he was an exile and wanderer,
welding the rod Of a pedagogue instead
of the scepter Of o monarch. During
his stay in our land he crossed the AL
Ieghanies and came down the Ohio
river to Neville, and there passed the
winter Of 1814-15 in the household OF
his old friend, General Neville. Here
in the double log house, the future
King spent several months, and, to
while away time, taught the grand
children of his host and such children
of the neighbors as chose to acquire the
, rudiments of the French language and
belle lettres.
The late Judge Elijah Larkin used to
IOve to tell of his conversations with
this French exile, and when the latter
ascended the Frech throne the old
judge dilated with pride upon his rem
iniscencesio of the citizen king. When
in the following year. 1916, Louis
XVIII beceme king of France by the
influence of the bayonets of Europe
upon the downfall of Napoleon, he not
only recalled, but heaped honors upon
his cousin, Louis Philippe, who the
preceding winter taught an humble
school In a rude cabin in the then little
hamlet OF Neville.
When upon throne the pampered
King never forgot the Clermont house.
\ hold which afforded him succor in his
4 wanderings, and sent to the Neville
grandchildren many rare and costly
presents and Gen. Morgan Neville,
& when visiting Paris, was entertained
for weeks by the king in his royal
palace. t4s
There are old people yet living who
remember with pleasure the noble face
of the smiling Frenchman when he
acted as teacher in Neville and tell il
with gusto that dwarfs fiction into
insignificance when compared to the
stern realities that happened in the
pioneer days of our country.
Mr.. ]. B. Neville, of Batavia, is the
grandson of Col. Morgan Neville and
his family are the owners Of "a large dia.
mond that Louis Philippe left as q
pledge for $900-given him by Gen
Presley Neville to enable to return
home.
Gen. Presley Neville married the
daughter of Gen. Morgan, of re, olu
tionary fame, who was the hero of the
battle of the Cowpens, and was present
ed by the government for his val0l
t upon this occasion a gold medal. Mr.
J. b. Neville Is the present owner anC
Dossessor ofsaid medal. fr
CORNELIUS wAsHBURN. 3
In the year 1890 Cornelius Washburn
commonly called "Neiln was living or
the Kentucky side of the Ohio, siz
miles below Maysville, a lad of sixteen
From his early years he showed a dis
position to follow the woods, and about
this thine distinguished himself By
killing an Indian. Several persons
made hirn presents for his bravery
The next year he was employed as
spy between Maysville and the mouth
Of the Little Miami, to watch fol
Indians and killed several. In1792 he
Was employed by Gen. Lee. the Gov
eEnment agent, to go up the Ohio above
the Kanawha, and warn all single
Boats not to descend the river. HI
was surprised dy Indians in ambush
his horse was shot from beneath him
Springing to his feet he bounded away
like q deer, swan the Big Sandy, hold.
ihg,ffis rifle and ammunition above his
head, and escaped.
In the fall of 1892 he, was in the
action with Kenton and others, against
Tecumseh in what afterwards became
Brown county, a short time previous tx
the settlement Of that county. The
circumstances are given in Drake:
Life of that celebrated Indian chief
The Marty of vhifps uYnhnrinp 2R in.